Bertisha was smirking as if she knew every truth. I nearly wavered for a moment.

‘Stay calm. There’s only circumstantial suspicion—there might not be any actual evidence.’

“Your Majesty the Empress, how can you say we aren’t a real married couple? Is such an absurd rumor spreading behind my back without my knowledge?”

I asked with a light laugh, as if the idea were utterly ridiculous. Bertisha’s gaze then scrutinized me. I could feel her confidence softening as she observed my composed reaction.

“You’re quite the skilled actress, Lady Orbetian… I almost believed I’d been mistaken. But think about it—this doesn’t make sense.”

“What doesn’t make sense, exactly?”

“From the very beginning. The assumption that Yezar had a long-term lover unknown to both me and Camileo—that part doesn’t add up.”

Her eyes bored into me, relentless in their attempt to dig out the truth. I couldn’t let her discover here and now that our marriage was merely contractual.

Because if she realized I was nothing to him, she might try to approach Yezar again.

Or worse, use that as an excuse to expose me.

“But why? I know the three of you were close. But would someone really reveal a lover’s secret to a friend? A lover and a friend are different things, aren’t they?”

Bertisha tilted her head slightly.

“They are different—but tell me, would a man in love with one woman ever truly love another at the same time? Yezar isn’t that kind of man.”

She said it so calmly, as if she knew him completely. Her point was clear: Yezar had loved her back then, so the idea of him having another lover didn’t make sense.

It struck me as contradictory—she had ignored his heart back then, yet now claimed to know he wasn’t the type to betray a lover.

‘Why does this hurt so much?’

Every time I met Bertisha, her casual, thoughtless insults weighed heavily on my heart. I could almost see Yezar’s face twisting in pain before my eyes.

“You said earlier that I resented my husband for once loving Your Majesty. What exactly did you mean by that?”

“Are you pretending not to understand, when you clearly do?”

Bertisha had regained her composure, smiling now with malice in her eyes.

“Lady Orbetian, why were you so wary of me getting close to Yezar? If what you say is true, I’m merely a friend. So I’m asking—what were you afraid of?”

I was afraid Bertisha would shake Yezar’s heart. Afraid she’d revive those painful emotions. Afraid he’d suffer again, floundering in agony.

For a moment, I was speechless. But staying silent would only make it seem like our relationship was fake.

“My husband doesn’t wish to see Your Majesty—that’s why I was cautious. When someone distances themselves from a close friend, it’s usually because they were hurt by them.”

Bertisha replied indifferently.

“Oh, so it’s something like the pain of a broken heart?”

Now she didn’t even bother hiding the fact that she knew Yezar once loved her. Why was she so desperate to provoke me? Had my words last time truly ignited her inner insecurity?

‘She seems desperate to hurt me.’

“I don’t know if it was heartbreak. I didn’t ask him the reason out of consideration. But I do understand now—why Yezar pushed Your Majesty away.”

“What?”

“My husband avoids those who treat the people he holds dear so carelessly. Yezar doesn’t speak harshly to wound others. He’s a pure-hearted man who would never exploit someone’s feelings. There’s no reason for him to remain close to Your Majesty.”

I smiled at her. Even if he once ached for a past love, that wasn’t the case now. That part of his heart belonged to the past.

That pain, that sorrow, that lingering attachment—he had already sorted through and let go of them. So I needed to firmly put an end to this woman who still tried to manipulate him.

To protect the one I cherished from harm.

“Your Majesty, what are you so afraid of that you summoned me here just to say hurtful things?”

“That’s absurd. I’ve never done such a thing, Lady.”

I loathed her face as she denied it. How could she speak so cruelly to others while carrying a new life within her?

“The claim that we aren’t truly married, calling me by my maiden name, saying my husband once loved Your Majesty—those words hurt me, Your Majesty.”

Even if all of it were true, none of it should have been said to me—Yezar’s wife. This was outright rudeness.

I had no intention of silently accepting the provocation she had clearly thrown at me.

“…Even if Yezar and I weren’t long-time lovers, the person by his side now is me. The one he loves is me.”

It wasn’t true that Yezar loved me—but I had to speak with such confidence. I needed to understand what had driven Bertisha, who usually hid her true feelings, to act this way.

“Yezar has moved on from the past. Why are you, Your Majesty, still clinging to it?”

Her fingertips trembled as our eyes met. I heard her breathing grow faster. In her gaze toward me, fear and desperate longing mingled.

‘What do you want, Bertisha? The world where everything once belonged to you is gone.’

“Could it be that you’re treating me so cruelly because the Emperor summoned me without telling you? If the Emperor, who always lavished affection on you, now keeps secrets…”

“Enough—!”

She shot up from her seat, her entire body shaking with fear.

My words had struck a nerve. Bertisha bit her lip hard, as if to suppress a scream.

“No! That’s not it! Camileo, who loves me so deeply, would never keep secrets from me! Especially not… especially not about summoning you!”

Her cry sounded almost like a shriek. The proud, beautiful heroine was nowhere to be seen.

Only a grotesque greed remained—someone desperately trying to cling to what once belonged to her. She clutched her stomach as she screamed.

Bertisha slowly calmed her breath, suppressing the rage that had overwhelmed her. I found it laughable.

How easily she hurt others, yet how fiercely she protected her own body and unborn child.

“…You hold the life in your womb so dear—so why do you wound others? All your actions will return to you, Your Majesty.”

“What do you know…?”

Her voice was clearly laced with fury. But who was she to be angry now?

I was the one holding back the urge to shout and rage, simply because of her imperial title.

I let out a quiet sigh and slowly met her gaze.

“I asked if you’re changing. If the world where you, Your Majesty, once had everything is now crumbling.”

As I finished speaking, I saw her brow furrow. But I could read the emotion in her eyes.

‘You don’t want to admit it’s changing. The world that once revolved around you is slowly falling apart, and you’ve tried to ignore it, blaming everyone else.’

Understanding her psychology, I felt my tension dissolve uselessly. What had I been afraid of, facing someone like this? She was nothing but a coward.

I saw no reason to continue this meaningless conversation. So I stood, just as she had.

Then, I coldly recited the future she feared so deeply.

“From now on, it will crumble even more. The things you cannot obtain will grow endlessly. You are no longer the protagonist of this world, Your Majesty. Accept it—before you become even more pitiful.”

In that moment, Bertisha stepped toward me. Her hand flew toward my cheek.

I could have dodged it. But I chose not to. How much could a delicate hand like hers truly hurt?

I willingly offered my cheek, and a sharp slap echoed through the room.

Even without a mirror, I knew my cheek must be burning red.

“You call me pitiful? Lady Orbetian, have you lost your mind?”

I stared at Bertisha coldly. She flinched, trembling.

“I’ll consider the slap your punishment for the disrespect you showed me. Further agitation won’t benefit the unborn child. I’ll take my leave now, Your Majesty.”

I could feel Bertisha regaining her senses, staring at her own hand.

“A-Ah. That was a m-mistake.”

The look of panic on her face was unmistakable—the reaction of someone who had never struck another person before. Her voice sounded like a feeble excuse.

“Isn’t that the punishment you gave me for being disrespectful to Your Majesty? That’s how I’ve chosen to see it.”

With those words, I left her behind and walked away.

***

I gently touched my stinging cheek. Bertisha’s slap was surprisingly forceful. Still, an ice compress should dull the pain soon enough.

‘Never thought I’d get slapped by the heroine. What a world—live long enough, and you’ll see anything.’

Thinking so lightly, I turned to head back to where Yezar was.

Then I saw a familiar face standing right beside me. A face weighed down by endless sorrow, gazing at me.

“Yezar…?”

‘Why—why is Yezar here?’